The inaugural edition of the Kerala Super League has now been officially announced with six teams set to participate. The league is also set to have a connection with the Australian top flight – the A-League.
Here are the six franchises that have recently been announced:
- Malappuram Football Club
- Calicut Sulthans FC
- Thiruvananthapuram Kombans
- Thrissur Roar Football Club
- Kannur Squad Football Club
- Kochi Pipers
Kerala Super League officially announced: Find all the details here
Kerala Super League Football is launched!🔥
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) May 11, 2024
– Malappuram Football Club
– Calicut Sulthans FC
– Thiruvananthapuram Kombans
– Thrissur Roar Football Club
– Kannur Squad Football Club
– Kochi Pipers
Which team will you support?🤔#KSL #KeralaSuperLeague #IndianFootball… pic.twitter.com/Hk3Kr7sswH
The inaugural season of the Kerala Super League will be available to watch on Hotstar and Star Sports. And as revealed by Marcus Mergulhao, the teams will spend around INR 5 crore per season, half of which will be regained through sponsorships.
The team structure has also been revealed to an extent with six foreigners and six players from outside of Kerala to be considered. The rest will be from within the state for the promotion of local talent.
One point of the A-League connection is between Thrissur Roar and Brisbane Roar from Australia. It appears that the two clubs are co-owned and will be part of a football club group.
We need to really ask, what are the objectives of this new Kerala Super League? Is this I-League vs ISL mess all over again? What will happen in 4 years from now when the hype has died and reality hits? https://t.co/M53qkN4i6Y pic.twitter.com/WgLKt4vM54
— Reddit r/IndianFootball (@rIndianFootball) May 11, 2024
While Kerala is one of the hotbeds of Indian football alongside West Bengal and the NorthEast, an interesting point to note is that the teams can spend around INR 5 crore per year, which is also the budget of an I-League club, the second tier of India.
Therefore, it potentially points to another controversial case of mismanagement when it comes to building the football structure in the country.
